Day of Remembrance Ceremony….at A.I. DuPont Hospital

On Sunday, October 24th , DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE had a ceremony of Remembrance to honor the children who passed away at that hospital. They send out invitations to the parents of children who passed away in the last 2 years each year. If families who attend find the service to be meaningful for them, then the families can fill out paperwork to be put on DuPont’s mailing list for their child to be included in the ceremony each year that this is done.
Last year DuPont invited us to join them in the ceremony, however, Eric and I just couldn’t bring ourselves to that hospital so soon after Jared passed. (He passed away about a month and a half before the ceremony.) Well, when we got the invitation this year, we were all about honoring our ANGEL BOY. We needed to be a part of it this year, so we went with a few members of our family and a dear nurse and lifelong friend of ours who took care of Jared with all of her heart. I am so glad she came. I was hoping another dear friend and nurse who will always be a part of our hearts could come…she was going to but her aunt passed away and she couldn’t make it. Jared knows her heart attended though.
I have to admit that going in to that hospital brought so much sadness of the last day we came through that door to kiss our ANGEL goodbye and then out those doors never to see our ANGEL again. This time, we made the trip to Dupont and we got to honor the LIFE of a child who brought so much awesome JOY in our lives and he was there with us in SPIRIT and we remembered his smiles each time we came up to DuPont to visit him and he would give to us the BIGGEST SMILES that would light up the room…. because they were smiles of the truest LOVE anyone could ever show physically. I am so GRATEFUL for the faculty and staff of A I DuPont Hospital for all the years of memories that are cherished now more than ever and always will be from the deepest part of my heart…..GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU WHO TOOK CARE OF JARED AND ALL THE OTHER ANGELS WHO ARE BLESSED EACH DAY THAT THEY’RE THERE.


Here are a few pictures:

This was the invitation to the ceremony:

This was the invitation and the memory book that DuPont made up of all the children who had passed away within the last 2 years:

This was Jared's memory page:

This was Jared's picture they hung up along the wall pinned to a clothesline of other pictures of children being honored and the papers are the program of service:

Here is his name circled in red:

This was a gift we received from DuPont as a token of their appreciation for allowing the staff to take care of each of our children (this was given when each family came up to the front when our child's name was called and we each placed a rose in the vase for our little ANGELS):

This was for the siblings (3 years or older)....they had their own little service upstairs with the Child Life Team doing activities with them and Logan made this dragonfly for Jared. When our service was near done, Child Life brought the children down to be a part of the adult service...each child got to hang their dragonfly they made for their loved one on a trellis up front and we got to take them down when the service was over to keep them:

Home Remedies from your Spice Rack:

Allspice: Relieves muscle aches and pains. First grind Allspice into a powder then add water to make a paste. Spread on a strip of clean muslin and apply to sore area.

Anise: Helps congestion from allergies, colds or flu, and settle upset stomach with gas. Make a tea by steeping 1 teaspoon of anise seeds in 1 cup of boiling water. Strain before drinking. Also chew a couple anise seeds as needed for bad breath.

Basil: For relief of cough, make a tea of dried basil (1 teaspoon) per 1 cup boiling water. Steep then strain, add a spoonful of honey then drink. Fresh basil leaves can also help with warts.

Bay Leaves: Helps with dandruff. Make a rinse by crushing a handful of bay leaves to one liter water (first brought to boiling then removed from heat). Cover and steep for 20 minutes. Strain and cool. Apply to hair and leave for 45 minutes to 60 minutes. Rinse clean.

Black Ground Pepper: Stops bleeding, sprinkle a generous amount on a cut and voila! pain free

Caraway Seeds: Chew on a few seeds to help with flatulence. You can also make a tea by steeping 1 tsp seeds per cup of boiling water. Strain before drinking.

Cardamom: Digestive aid, brew a tea with 1 teaspoon cardamom and 1 cup boiling water. Steep. Drink tea with meals.

Cayenne Pepper: Sprinkle a pinch of Cayenne Pepper on meals to clear sinuses. A gargle made with water and cayenne pepper can help with sore throats. Also a natural appetite suppressant and increases metabolism. Sprinkle cayenne pepper on a toothbrush or add to a glass of water to gargle/rinse mouth–helps prevent gum disease and speeds up healing gingivitis. For toothaches, make a paste with cayenne pepper and water, apply to sore area.

Celery Seed: Relief from fluid retention: Make a diuretic tea by roughly crushing 1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed and steep in 1 cup boiling water (20 minutes). If you’re menstruating late, this infusion can be used to bring on menstruation. Also helps with high blood pressure and anxiety.

Cinnamon: Mix 1/2 tsp of cinnamon to coffee or tea to help raise good cholesterol levels. Arthritis pain: try 1/2 tsp cinnamon mixed with 1 tsp honey. To help with heavy menstruating, add a bit of cinnamon to tea, coffee or sprinkle on foods.


Cloves: Chew one clove for bad breath. For toothache pain, rest a clove against the sore area until pain goes away. You can also chew on a 3 or 4 cloves to relieve nausea. To relieve a sore throat, slowly chew on a few cloves.

Coriander: Boil one teaspoon of coriander seeds in 1 cup of water, drink. Helps with high cholesterol.

Cumin: Boil 1 cup of water with a teaspoon of cumin seeds, simmer for a few seconds. Strain and cool. Drink for cold relief.

Dill Seed: Try swallowing a teaspoon of dill seed to stop hiccups. For stomach cramp relief, you can brew a tea by steeping 1 teaspoon seeds per cup of boiling water. Strain before drinking. Crush seeds slightly when making tea and is good for flatulence.

Garlic Powder: Mosquito Repellent: Make a garlic powder and water paste. Apply to pulse points, behind knees, on shoes and ankles and a dab or two on your cheeks or somewhere on your face and neck–-keep out of eyes.

Ginger: Brew a tea with 1/2 teaspoon ginger per cup of boiling water. Strain before drinking. Helps with nausea. If you have fresh ginger on hand, chewing a bit is more effective than ginger tea. For headache relief, make a paste of ground ginger and water, apply to temple area. Can also help with heartburn.

Mustard Powder: To relieve congestion, mix 1 tablespoon of mustard powder with 1 liter of hot water then soak feet.

Mint (peppermint or spearmint): Brew a tea with 1 1/2 teaspoons dried mint per cup of boiling water. Strain before drinking. Helps with stomach aches and cramps.

Sage: Control hot flashes (caused by menopause) by drinking sage tea three times a day. Boil 1/2 teaspoon sage per 1 cup boiling water. Steep (10 minutes), strain and drink.

Salt: Canker sore remedy: Apply salt directly to the sore or rinse your mouth a couple times a day with a strong salt water solution–stings. For mosquito bite relief, make a salt and water paste then apply to bite area .

Thyme: Sooth a cough with thyme tea. Brew 1 tablespoon dried thyme in 1 cup boiling water. Strain then drink (for sore throats, gargle with this tea). Helps relieve gas and stomach cramps. Brew a tea with 1 tsp dried thyme per 1 cup boiling water. Strain before drinking.

Turmeric: Fever relief: Mix 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder with 1 cup of warmed milk, add a teaspoon of honey.

Thank You to my Blogger friend......Mel

I wanted to make this post about my blogging friend….Mel. For those of you who read my blog, you may notice there’s always a comment from Mel….so Mel….Thank you for reading my blog and commenting on each post…I just wanted to let you know that I look forward to your comments and I appreciate them. You make me laugh and you give me reason to keep up blogging. Sometimes I just ignore it but then I think of you and I come back to write more of whatever it is I feel like blogging about that day. I just felt that it was about time for a thank you.

Since I never told you about the concert (so sorry) I wanted to tell you that I was so STARSTRUCK, I did what I thought I might…I let the moment pass me by…because there were so many people there for this meet and greet, you only had a few minutes to say hello and get your picture taken with the band and everyone was standing in line waiting their turn. It was so surreal. I said, to them, something like, “It’s really great to meet you guys” and shook each of their hands and I gave Johnny (my man!) a hug and then I moved away a bit(when I shoulda stayed closer!) and took my picture with the Dolls…..but I was so MAD that I didn’t say more or grab his a** or something because I wanted to so bad but didn’t because….I don’t know, I felt disrespectful and I just DID NOT….and then I had the nerve when I came back home and looked at the photo online and said to my hubby, “I don’t like it, well NEXT TIME, I’m gonna make sure I do something!” Hello Karen this was the chance of a lifetime and you blew it!….so what….I still have this pic of him standing beside me and he has a gorgeous smile on his face and a nice bod to look at now and then!
As for the concert….they put on a great show and I loved every minute of it. Johnny is an amazing singer and I’m so glad I get to hear all of his songs. His lyrics are words I love to read! GOO GOO DOLLS ROCK MY WORLD!! Thanks again Mel!